The Lord of Darkness Rises Again
by MiXeDFrUiToFdOom
Summary: Harry Potter wakes up on the floor after being unconsious for 2 years. Why is he here? Who was responsible for this? Meanwhile, a human sacrifice is being prepared for the Dark Lord and dementors torture a boy. Can Harry help save them? Please R&R!
1. The Dark Alleys

Disclaimer: I don't own any Harry Potter characters. Also, I was inspired by Lamb of God and Dying Fetus lyrics (yes, there is a band called Dying Fetus.) If u recognize them, then congratulations! You have my taste in music. (I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing, but whatever). I only own the plot and the slightly distorted owl.  

A/N: I changed the name of Hogwarts to 'Ogwats mainly for my own amusement. This is my first fic that I wrote by myself, so if it's very horrible, then please be nice to me in the reviews. I would appreciate it. Let me know what you think.

Chapter 1: The Dark Alleys 

Harry Potter woke up to a painful sensation on his head. Instead of waking up from the soft bed in Gryffindor tower, he felt the cold, hard floor beneath him. He was wearing torn robes that didn't quite fit him. His body even seemed unfamiliar to him. Even though he was on the ground, he could tell that he grew taller. He felt like he hadn't been awaken in years. _Perhaps, _he thought, _that is the case?_ He could feel the pain on his head increasing. Was that the source that had awakened him? He opened his eyes and turned around. He saw a small owl pecking madly on his head. The owl looked slightly distorted, with one eye larger than the other one. For some odd reason, it kind of reminded him of Mrs. Norris. "Get off of me!" he yelled. The black owl obeyed as Harry took the letter from it. It read: 

            To Whoever Finds This Letter:

A surprise is waiting for you on 3 Maynard Avenue. Come quickly, or you may miss out. 

                                                            -Anonymous

_Well, this is strange, _he thought. He decided to go to 3 Maynard Avenue to see what the so-called "surprise" was. But there was a small problem. Where was he? Where is Maynard Avenue? He tried standing, but it was very awkward. After a few minutes, he regained his balance. He surveyed the area around him. He saw that there were no forms of life whatsoever (besides himself and the owl, of course) and he was in a mysterious, dark alleyway. It was strangely ominous. The owl started flying away. Harry desperately tried to stop the owl when he said, "Wait! Come back!" The owl ignored him and kept flying. Harry ran after the owl past abandoned wizard shops and bent lamp posts when he came across a crooked sign that said, "Maynard Avenue." Instantly, he ignored the owl, which was flying in the opposite direction and he continued down Maynard Avenue. 

This street didn't look any better. There were still abandoned shops and no signs of life. _Surely this must be a dream, _he thought. He knew that there were supposed to be many people buying things and doing daily activities around here. His mind was filled with questions. _Why am I here? _He thought anxiously. _How did I get here? Where is everybody? _Suddenly, he remembered the note he received."Come quickly, or you may miss out," it said. He started running down the street, frantically looking for the number 3. _Maybe the "surprise" will answer some of my current questions. _

That's when he spotted it. The number 3. In front of him, he saw a forsaken old brick building, with broken windows and shabby-looking apartments. It looked just like the rest of the buildings on the street, except that there was something about the building that Harry just didn't like. Something dreadful…

Harry began to re-think his decision about entering the place. Yet, it would annoy him very much if he didn't find out what the surprise was. It reminded him of a bad memory, only a memory that he couldn't remember. He finally talked himself into entering the building. _A memory that you can't remember? You don't make sense. _He told himself. _The building looks abandoned. It probably has been abandoned for years. If anything is even in there that is unpleasant, you've got your wand with you._

He slowly marched up the cracked stone driveway and placed his hand on the gold doorknob. _A gold doorknob is very odd, especially in a slum town like this, _he thought. He pushed open the door. Inside of the building, there was dust everywhere. Harry coughed a few times before looking around. He saw very old crooked pictures hanging on the walls and gaping holes in the floor. As he walked around different apartments, he saw old, dusty, modern-looking furniture. _Some surprise, _he thought. Right after he thought that, he heard a scream coming from one of the upstairs apartments, seeming to mock his thoughts. 

Harry quickly rushed upstairs to find the source of the screaming. He continued to follow the noise until he reached a closed wooden door with another gold doorknob. In fact, gold doorknobs were on all of the doors in the house. He pushed the door ajar to find Draco Malfoy tied with ropes all around his body that were constricting as a source of punishment. He looked over to see three dementors pointing wands at him and making the constricting motions. Draco continued to scream because of the coiling ropes around him. His flesh turned pinkish as a reaction to the ropes. As much as Harry loved his enemy to scream, he felt this punishment was unnecessary, even for Draco Malfoy. 

"Stop it!" he yelled

The dementors turned to face him. Since their attention was focused mainly on Harry, the ropes loosened enough for Draco to stop screaming and say, "Harry Potter? You're alive? But how? Everyone thought you died!" In response to this, two dementors came towards Harry, hoping to give him the kiss of death. The other dementor regained grip on Malfoy's ropes. Once again, he was helpless and screaming. 

As the dementors closed in on Harry, he fell to the cold ground. _Gee, this feels familiar,_ he thought. Then he remembered that he needed to use his patronus to destroy the dementors. However, he couldn't think of happy thoughts. He couldn't remember much of anything before that annoying owl woke him up. He felt his body going numb as the dementors leaned closer to him. He could sense their presence of the undead as he tried to gain control of happiness. He began to feel depressed and like nothing good would ever happen to him. Grim thoughts returned to him. His loved ones had mysteriously disappeared. His life is meaningless. Why should he be "blessed" with this so-called "gift of life" when he was born with only the wish to die? Nothing can be as bad as this amount of emotional pain, not even death. By this time, he gave up all hope. He wanted the dementors to kiss him. He wished to be a part of them. He desired to fall into oblivion, where nothing mattered anymore. It was much easier than fighting. Much easier than living…

Suddenly, he remembered his friends. They made him happy. He needed to find them. He needed to know what was going on and why all of these shops and apartments were abandoned. He couldn't just lay here and watch the dementors destroy his existence. He thought of his friends at 'Ogwats, his mother and father who died, and oddly enough, the thought of saving Draco. 

"Expecto Patronus!" he shouted as a silver stag emerged from the tip of his wand. All three of the dementors were defeated and they vanished. The ropes on Malfoy became looser. Harry stood up and walked over to him. He took the remaining ropes off of him. Now that he could see Draco clearer, he saw that he got taller and even more good-looking than he was before…not that he noticed or anything. 

"Potter, I still loathe you with a passion," Malfoy said bitterly.

"I just saved your life! The least you could do is say 'thank you!'"

"I could have handled it myself."

"I heard you screaming from all the way downstairs. Don't even lie like that, Malfoy."

"Thanks I guess…," Draco mumbled under his breath. "But don't expect me to bow down to you and say 'Thank you slave master!' like I had to do for the past two years!"

"What?" Harry asked while startled. "Why would you have to do that?"

"Because the dementors stole my wand and made me their own personal slave, not like it's any of _your_ business."

"But the dementors couldn't have done that! They don't have any authority. The Ministry of Magic controls them."

"Potter, that was two years ago. Where the hell have you been?"

"Um…I'm not sure actually."

"Well get with the program, loser. Hey, why are you still around anyway? Everyone thinks you're dead!"

"What? Why?" Harry asked confusedly. 

"Well, because you mysteriously vanished for two years. Duh."

"Didn't anyone bother to look for me?"

"Yes, but you were nowhere in sight. Although I don't see why anyone would want to look for _you_ of all people."

"Go to hell, Malfoy!"

"I don't need to. The world has gone awry ever since your disappearance so it's like an amateur version of hell."  
  


"What do you mean?"

"Don't you know anything? The Dark Lord has taken over much of the wizard world ever since one of his worst enemies has vanished. Pretty soon, he's going to take over the muggle world as well. And from there, who knows what else can happen."

"Wow." Harry was shocked from the news he had just taken in. He had to think for a few seconds before asking, "Well then why are all of the buildings around here empty?"

"Can't you figure that out by yourself? I'm tired of talking to you."

"Please? I saved your life. The least you could do is explain a few things to me."

"Fine!" Draco yelled. "But only if you stop annoying me." After Harry nodded his head in approval, Draco said, "Most of the people who used to live in these houses have joined the Dark Lord in his quest of taking over the world. He promised those who joined his side all of the riches in the world and extreme power. It's a load of crap, if you ask me. Others have fled to safe houses. They have powerful magical spells on them so the Dark Lord will have difficulty entering them. I feel that they're as good as gone though. He gained a lot of power in the last two years. I can't help but admire the guy. And before you can ask, the answer is no, I don't know where the safe houses are."

"I wasn't going to ask that. How can you admire such an evil git like Voldemort?!"

Draco didn't flinch at the name. Instead he sounded confident when he said, "Potter, you forget I'm in Slytherin."

"That isn't anything to be proud of!"

"In your opinion. And seriously, nobody cares about that."

Harry's blood started to boil. He replied with a mere "Grr" as he crossed his arms. _Who did he think he was anyway? I saved his life! The least thing he could do is be grateful._

"What do you plan to do now, Potter? Tell me your plot of saving the world once again. After all, I do need a laugh."

"Shut up, Malfoy. How am I supposed to think clearly with this sudden rush of information?" 

There was no reply from Draco. Then Harry thought of a brilliant idea. "Which way is 'Ogwats? Maybe Dumbledore will know what to do!"

"No, that won't work. Dumbledore left 'Ogwats right after the first attacks. He left no trace of where he went. That coward…"

"Don't say that about Dumbledore! He has to have a plan! He always does."

"Not this time. This time, there's no one to save you," Malfoy said with his familiar evil sneer.

"Cut it out Malfoy. There's no one to save you either. We must work together to save each other and fight until the end!"

"Your enthusiasm is revolting. I can't be bothered with saving the world."

"You either have to help me, side with Voldemort, or die. Which do you choose?"

"Fine I'll help you, but only if I become famous in the end…and if there are a lot of sexy people congratulating me." (A/N: Notice I didn't make him say "sexy girls"  *wink wink*.) 

"Whatever. That's so typical of you to only want to save the world for your own benefit."

"I know," Draco said with a false laugh.

"I think we should go to "Ogwats and see what is left of it. We may even find some people to join us against the Dark Lord."

"There you go, Potter. Always taking charge of things. Fine. We can do that, but only because I don't feel like thinking of a brilliant plan."

"Yeah, sure Malfoy." 

Together they left the apartment building and they were on their way to 'Ogwats. Harry was lucky that Draco had a sense of direction and knowledge of where they were. Harry realized that the sky was getting darker by the minute. They traveled out of the dark alleys and into a more peaceful clearing. It was an area with green grass and happy forest animals scurrying about. It seemed to contradict the situation. The pair came to an abrupt halt. 

"Why did we just stop in the middle of nowhere?" Harry asked anxiously.

"I haven't slept in days. You can't expect me to save the world with no sleep, can you?"

"But at this minute, people can be in danger! We have to help rescue them!"

"First of all, we don't have to do anything. I'm tired, so I'm going to sleep."

"Fine," Harry replied with a hint of irritation.

Draco used his arms as a pillow and fell asleep quickly. Harry watched him, since there was nothing better to do and he couldn't fall asleep with all of the new information he just learned. There was just too much on his mind right now. Harry couldn't help but notice how innocent Draco looked while sleeping. _It's the opposite of the real Malfoy, _he thought. _Or at least, it's the opposite of the Malfoy that I know. Maybe I don't really know him that well after all._ With these thoughts, he fell asleep.


	2. The Sacrifice

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except for the plot and the owl from the previous chapter. In this chapter, I used a quote from the Animaniacs….aah that was a good show. Okay, back to Harry Potter.

A/N: I replaced "accio" with "ascendio" because I can. Also, this chapter is rated PG-13 for sexual related humor. I couldn't resist…

                  **Chapter 2: The Sacrifice**

Harry woke up late the next morning, annoyed that he didn't sleep as well as he usually does. He looked over to his left where Draco was supposed to be sleeping. However, he was gone. _Where could he have run off? I hope nothing bad happened to him! We're still in a dangerous area, _Harry thought worriedly. After putting on his glasses, Harry searched the woods next to the large clearing and the clearing itself. He couldn't find Draco. _It's all my fault! I shouldn't have let him out of my sight._ Then Harry thought of one place he hasn't checked – the lake. There was a lake on the other side of the clearing. _But what would he be doing there?_ he wondered.

Harry rushed over to the lake. He found Draco, but he was…naked. He looked so perfect for the water because he was so graceful in motion. The warmth of the bright sunlight seemed to dance over his body. His hair shimmered and made him look godly (again, not that Harry noticed.) Harry was staring at Draco accidentally. Just when he was about to look away, Draco caught his gaze.

"Potter, I didn't think you were that fascinated by me," Draco said with a hint of sarcasm. Harry was speechless. "Or is it because," Draco said as he looked down "You've never seen one this big before?" Harry's mouth gaped. He was shocked that Draco had such a perverted mind, although he should have suspected it before. Harry's face turned red and for a moment he was frozen in place. Then he ran away. "Geez, I was just kidding," Draco mumbled under his breath. 

Harry was still embarrassed when he went to conjure up breakfast with his wand. "_Ascendio pancakes!_" he shouted, with his mind still reluctantly on Draco's…um…wand. The pancakes appeared and Draco joined him (while fully clothed) for breakfast.

"Potter," Draco said seriously. "About that thing back at the lake, I was just kidding. You know that, right?"

"Yes, I know," Harry lied. He was relieved to hear this news.  The truth was that Harry had never really seen something that large before. There was a small moment of silence after this. Then Harry thought of something to ask Draco. 

"Why did the dementors send me a letter to go to 3 Maynard Avenue when everyone thought I was dead?" Harry asked curiously, while wanting to change the subject.

"I thought you would have figured that out by now. Anyway, the owl found you by accident. That note was not intended for you. The dementors were looking for new bait. I think they were getting tired of me. They wanted to kill me in front of some random person and then kill that person after I died. I could tell they were honestly as shocked as I was to see you."

"Is that a good thing?

"Unfortunately enough, it was."

Harry managed a small smile and Draco gave him an unnecessary glare in response to that. 

"Which way is 'Ogwats from here," Harry asked anxiously.

"That way," Draco said while pointing to the woods. 

After the boys were done with breakfast, they set off into the woods. There was a dirt trail in the woods, so they would follow the path easily. The woods looked rather ordinary, with animals gathering food and thick, tall trees. They didn't say much of anything since entering the woods, until they came across a small pond.

"What's a pond doing in the middle of the woods?" Draco asked after he stopped to look at it.

"I don't know." Harry said while shrugging his shoulders. Then he leaned closer to the pond and saw his reflection staring back at him. "Hellooooooo, nurse!" he said with a surprised smile on his face.

"What are you talking about? Is this another one of your silly little games, Potter?" 

"No, Malfoy. This is the first time I've seen my reflection in two years. Wow I look good!" he exclaimed. 

"I hate to break the news to you Potter. No wait. Actually I love to break the news to you, but that's beside the point. The point is that you're not as good looking as you think you are. That's just the ripple in the water. In fact, I've seen trolls better looking than you." With this rude remark, Draco gave his famous evil sneer and a small laugh. However, he was the only one laughing.

"Can't you ever learn to treat people with respect? Especially me, since I saved your life and all."

"Well I'm sooo sorry that I made precious little Potter upset," he said sarcastically.

Harry ignored this comment and replied, "Come on. Let's go," as they walked further down the path. _I was wrong about Malfoy. I do know the real him. He's mean and inconsiderate to other people. He's just an annoying git!_ If Harry weren't trying to save the world and find his friends, he would just ditch Malfoy right now.

Harry's thoughts were interrupted when he heard voices from deep inside the woods. The whispers were barely audible. Draco could hear them also, because he stopped short. They looked at each other and apparently; they both had the same idea. They mover closer into the woods and abandoned the trail. They both were very careful not to make any noise while maneuvering along the twigs and trees. The voices grew louder as they slowly mover towards them. Finally, they could see where the talking came from. They were careful to hide behind thick trees while observing a small group of Death Eaters. They wore long dark capes with hoods over their faces, so it was difficult to see most of them. As they talked, however, Harry knew some of their voices and as they moved, he could see some of their faces. He recognized Bellatrix LeStrange, Lucius Malfoy, and Rookwood. He didn't recognize the other two. He didn't know who one of them was. The other one kept the face completely concealed and didn't say a word. There was a large table in the middle of the group. The members were sitting in a circle around it. Harry and Draco hid behind trees that were adjacent to each other. The Death Eaters seemed to be oblivious to the fact that they were being watched. Lucius stood up, while wanting to make some sort of a speech.

"Ladies and gentleman," Lucius began. "We are gathered here today to support the rise of our master, the Dark Lord!" Cheers erupted from the small group, except from the one that remained covered with the hood and silent. As they cheered with enthusiasm, Harry could see the Dark Mark on their arms. "On this joyous day, we are all members of the most powerful group in the world!" There were more cheers and hollers. "We must praise the Dark Lord for giving us this splendid opportunity to serve him. After all, we are his most loyal followers, so we must make a human sacrifice in his name. Hail Voldemort!"

"Hail Voldemort!" the audience repeated.

Harry was shocked, although he shouldn't have been. They were about to watch a human sacrifice! He couldn't let this happen. _I've got to do something, _he told himself. 

As if reading Harry's thoughts, Draco grabbed his arm and whispered, "Don't even think about it."

"But we can't let this happen! An innocent person if going to die! We have to stop this!"

"Snap out of it, Potter. You have to just face the fact that you can't be a hero all the time. We should just leave right now, if we know what's good for us," Draco said sensibly.

"I can't believe what you're saying!"

"Well, we're outnumbered five to two. Who do you think will win? After all, they are the most powerful group in the world, according to dear old dad," Draco said with a touch of annoyance on the last three words. 

"How do you expect to save the world without putting other people before yourself?" Harry asked quietly.

"I don't even have my wand with me," Draco said while ignoring Harry's question. 

Their conversation was cut short when a loud voice said, "Bring out the sacrifice!" 

Both Bellatrix and Rookwood stood up and vanished out of sight for a moment. They returned while carrying a person. Bellatrix took the person's feet and Rookwood carried the head as they stepped forward to Lucius.  The sacrifice was sobbing quietly, but the boys could still hear the familiar female cry. She was tied in ropes all over her body that resembled when Draco was tied up by the dementors.  As the cry became louder, Harry recognized the voice of the girl. Then he gasped as he saw her bright red hair. He asked a question out loud, but it was mostly to himself. "Ginny? _You're_ the sacrifice?"


	3. The Attack

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that has to do with Harry Potter, besides the weird owl in chapter 1. That thing was cool. I'll probably put it back in the story soon. Anyway, I was inspired by more Dying Fetus and Lamb of God lyrics. Yay! I also took a Romeo and Juliet quote and twisted it around a bit (because I didn't remember the actual quote). 

A/N: This chapter is kind of mocking Christianity, so if you're very religious then try not to read the end of the second paragraph. It's not that bad though. Sorry if I'm upsetting anyone, but I really couldn't help myself. It was perfect! Please read and review though. I want to know if I should continue this fic. 

Chapter 3: The Attack 

Lucius took Ginny and threw her carelessly on the table. Harry noticed that she was trembling. Lucius gave her a cold stare, but at the same time, he looked like he was enjoying himself. _That's sick, _Harry thought. From under the table, Lucius pulled out a silver dagger with a crimson jewel in its handle. His eyebrows lowered and he gave Ginny a menacing smile. 

 "Your time has come. Say goodbye to life, to living. For all belongs to death," he said to her maliciously. He held the dagger slightly above her body. "Feasting on your precious blood, I shall drain you to eternal sleep. Your blood is my wine!" 

The Death Eaters repeated the last line back to him. Ginny gave a hopeless scream, as reality seemed to hit her. 

"Through chaos and eternal night, let the Dark one take your soul. Welcome him into your mind and body. Let him become a part of you, just as he is a part of us." By this time, Ginny was violently shaking.

"I see you trembling at the sight of me, and of my uncaring words. It only makes me more powerful. My loyalty is determined to crush the weak, to destroy the opposition, and to kill," Lucius said with an evil sneer that reminded Harry of Draco's. "You should be honored to die for the Dark Lord! I shall purify you with my hate and have pools of your blood seep down into the filthy dirt where you belong as I cheer victoriously! I will watch you rot under my feet as I laugh at your hopeless existence. After you take your last gasp of air, you shall be no more."

Harry was overwhelmingly disturbed by now, as he planned his chance of attack. "We have to do something right now!" he said to Draco.

"Didn't you hear me before, Potter? It's too dangerous. It's only the little weasel anyway. She's not important. It's not like anyone is going to care."

"You're just like your father!" snapped Harry. Draco seemed both insulted and disturbed by this, but before he could think of a good comeback, Harry jumped out from behind the trees just as Lucius was about to stab Ginny with the dagger. Everyone looked over in Harry's direction. Since Harry stole the spotlight from Lucius, the latter was very angry. He clenched his fists together and his teeth were clenched together. However, the dementors looked very surprised. 

"Potter! Why are you here?! I demand you tell me this immediately. The Dark Lord ordered your death two years ago. I saw you being carried away to your treacherous death. GRRRRR!!!!! Number Five, get over here!" Lucius's face was red with madness as he pointed to the silent one. "This is all your fault, Number Five." _Wow, that is sadd that they don't even have names anymore. To each other, they are just worthless numbers._

"We should continue this later. For now, we must make sure that this time, he does die," Bellatrix stated.

The Death Eaters turned towards Harry with their wands pointing at him threateningly, as if on que. Harry returned the action and pointed his wand at them. Rookwood was the first to strike. 

"_Rictusempra_!" he shouted at Harry, who tripped and wheezed as the spell became effective.

"No, you idiot," Lucius said angrily. "Stop playing these juvenile games! Kill him!"

"_Petrificus totalus_!" Harry said, while turning to point his wand at Rookwood. He was petrified, and fell to the ground while with a frozen expression of defeat on his face.

"Avada Keda-" Lucius began. However, an apple that was thrown at his head cut him off. Harry glanced to the side, where he saw that Ginny and Draco were nowhere in sight. _He obviously rescued her. Hmm…and I didn't think he cared much about the "little weasel." Stop it, Harry! There's 3 Death Eaters in front of you! Focus!_

"_Stupefy_!" he shouted at the unknown Death Eater. He fell to the ground and lay there pathetically. _Two against one,_ he thought. Oh well. _It's better than five against one like before._

When Harry was too preoccupied with his thoughts, Lucius aimed his wand at Harry and yelled, "_Crucio!_" Harry felt pain like never before. He wanted to truly die now. It was the physical equivalent of when the dementors nearly took his life. He felt every limb in his body collapse. He could sense the pain of his bones crushing, his muscles being torn, and his skin being beaten. Fear coursed through his body because he thought he was really going to die this time. 

"Having fun, Potter? I very much enjoy seeing you tortured before your tragic death. Don't worry. I will make sure that your death is long and painful. " Bellatrix was behind him, while snickering in the background. Apparently, she wanted to watch Harry being tortured. 

Just as Lucius finished his sentence, there was another apple thrown at his head. The apple hit him right in the forehead, which made him loose his concentration. Harry felt the pain subside and once again, he gained control of his body. With awkwardness and leftover pain, he made himself stand up straight. 

"WHO IS THROWING APPLES AT ME?!" he roared. Harry looked around. Yes, someone was throwing them at him because there were no apple trees where they were standing. While glancing around the area, Harry found only one apple tree. _Draco must be up there,_ he thought worriedly. Lucius spotted the tree, too because he started walking towards it in an angry stance. 

"Bellatrix," he paused. "Finish him."

"Gladly," she said with a malicious smile. Just when she held up her wand, another apple was thrown, only in her direction. It missed, but it disrupter her concentration. Just then, Draco revealed himself by jumping out of the tree. There was nowhere to run or hide now. Harry thought, _this is the end for him, since he doesn't have his wand. But would his own father really kill him?_

"Hello, dad. We meet again," Draco said with a tint of annoyance.

Lucius's wand was pointed at Draco. He didn't allow himself to disarm himself. "You always did get in the way of things, didn't you?" 

Draco didn't reply. He inched towards the table while coming within reach of his dad. Meanwhile, Harry and Bellatrix were too interested in the events taking place to care about fighting each other at the moment.

"Tell me something, my son. How do you expect to win against two of the most powerful wizards in the world? Do tell me your genius plot." 

"This," Draco stated coolly while grasping Ginny's wand from under the table "Is my genius plot."  

Lucius replied with only and angry look of disgust. Before he could utter a spell, Draco said, "_Impedimenta!_" Harry noticed that Lucius looked the same; only there was something different about him. His eyes widened and his mouth slightly dropped. _He looks possessed!_

"Now that that's done, get rid of Bellatrix," Draco told his father.

Lucius obeyed, but Harry noticed that he was trying to fight the curse. He staggered towards the table and took the dagger. His eyes rolled upwards into the back of his head as he placed one hand on the dagger. His arms dropped to his sides as if they were limp, while slowly walking towards Bellatrix. His mouth hung open even more, which added to the madness of it all. 

Meanwhile, Bellatrix was too fearful to do anything. At the same time, she was surprised that Lucius couldn't deflect the spell in time and that he looked insane. She had to remain loyal to Lucius, just as it stated in her oath. She couldn't run away now. She couldn't even move. Harry could see her body grow tenser as the seconds passed by and as Lucius inched his grotesque form closer to where she was. When she finally attempted to move away from him, he pulled her body close to his and stabbed her in her heart. She screamed in agony as the blade touched her flesh. Slowly, puddles of blood appeared from her robe and her limp corpse dragged to the ground as she took her final breath. 

Draco gave a satisfied smile and Harry's mouth hung open. _I can't believe he just did that! Performing an illegal curse and using it to kill someone? He's crazy! _

"Excellent job, dad. Now it's Potter's turn." 


	4. A Journey Through the Darkness

            Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot, the owl, the dagger, and some spells towards the end of the chapter. I took a quote from the movie "Night at the Roxbury." This time, I was inspired by Slipknot lyrics. I give props to all of the kick ass metal bands I listen to, and I thank them all for inspiring me.

A/N: Please read and review! Thanks!

**Chapter 4: A Journey Through the Darkness**

Harry saw the distorted form come closer to him while holding the dagger that was dripping fresh blood. Lucius still looked like a madman, with his eyes rolled in the back of his head and his mouth ajar. He staggered towards Harry slowly and ominously. Now Harry was aware of what Bellatrix felt. He knew that the dagger would be painful, but not as painful as the emotional stab of betrayal that he already felt. When he could find his voice, he said, "Draco, how could you? We were supposed to save the world together!"

            Draco laughed loudly and said, "Why in the world would I want to kill you? Oh wait. I can think of some reasons. You're annoying, you always want to be a hero, you're famous for doing nothing, and most importantly, you saw me naked without my permission." When Harry gave Draco a cold stare, he continued, "Potter, I was just kidding you know."

            "Tell him to stop it then!" Harry exclaimed. 

            "Oh yes, I almost forgot. Dad, do us all a favor and get lost." 

            Lucius did exactly what Draco told him to. He wandered into the woods with a strange expression on his face that seemed to say, "Help me, for I am lost."

            "Well, today has been an amusing day, hasn't it, Potter?" 

            "Your sense of humor sucks, Malfoy. Where is Ginny?"

            "I'm over here!" Ginny yelled. She was hiding in a bush nearby. She hopped out of it and marched over towards Harry and Draco with leaves stuck in her hair. "Draco was so nice. He saved me," she told Harry when she reached them. "And you were brave, too, Harry."

            "Thanks, Ginny."

            Ginny ignored Harry and gave Draco a kiss on the cheek. "That's for saving me and making me laugh."

            Draco looked half annoyed, and half content with the attention he was getting. "Just because I saved your life, it doesn't mean that you have to be all over me little weasel." Ginny replied with a frown.

            "How did you make her laugh?" Harry asked curiously as they started walking down the sirt trail in the woods.

            "I threw apples at my dad while she hid in the bushes." 

            "Oh. What was with your dad anyway? He seemed even more evil than he usually does." 

            "My dad is a total weirdo. He disowned me after I refused to become a Death Eater. Tonight was my way at getting back at him."

            "Oh I see. Just out of curiosity, why didn't you become a Death Eater? Of all people, I thought you were the most likely to become one."

            Draco didn't look insulted, as Harry thought he would look. Instead, he smiled when he said, "Potter, I'm evil, not stupid." 

_So he does have a good side after all_, Harry thought.

"I don't think you're evil," Ginny said sweetly. "After all, you rescued me."

"Yes, I am aware of that. I am beginning to regret it because you're ruining my reputation," Draco joked. 

Ginny responded by laughing. 

"Finally someone with a sense of humor around here!" Draco said sarcastically. 

"Ginny, how did you get into this situation anyway?" Harry asked curiously.

"Well one day I got into a fight with my family. It was over such a stupid thing. I can't even remember it that well. Then I left the safe house we were staying at because I wanted to go for a walk to clear my head. My family told me not to leave the house alone, but I deliberately disobeyed them because I was so angry. I was the only one out on the street that day. Now, hardly anyone leaves the safe houses unless it's really important. I was an easy target. Then Lucius Malfoy kidnapped me while I wasn't looking. He covered his hand over my mouth and told me I would make the perfect sacrifice to the Dark Lord because I am young and healthy."

"That git!" Draco interrupted. "I hate him even more now. I should have killed him when I had the chance…"

"No, it was best to let him go, Draco. It's wrong to kill the person that raised you. It's kind of ironic as well. Please continue, Ginny," Harry said.

"Well, he kidnapped me while he was on a broom. I fought as best as I could, but it didn't do any good. I couldn't reach my wand. He put a few jinxes on me, so I wasn't able to move my hands well, but I could still kick. I kicked him in his happy place a few times and he almost fell off the broom!" Ginny exclaimed while giggling. Both boys joined in to laugh. When the moment faded, Ginny continued. "It turned out that they were looking for me anyway, because they knew that I was the one who thought of the idea for safe houses. They were angry at me for keeping their potential victims out of harm."

"_You_ thought of that idea, little weasel? I didn't think you were smart enough," Draco said with a laugh. 

"That was a brilliant idea, Ginny!" Harry said enthusiastically.

"Thanks," Ginny said quietly while blushing. 

"Do you know what happened to the rest of the students at 'Ogwats?" Harry asked. "Are they still at school?"

"I doubt it if they are. Since Dumbledore has left, I think everyone went to the safe houses. No one smart would stick around school when He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has this much power." 

"Well then Crabbe and Goyle must still be there," Draco said with annoyance. "Those idiots…"

Ginny laughed and then said matter-of-factly, "Oh yes, I do recall them being there when everyone else started leaving." 

"Oh gods," Draco muttered. "Even if no one is left at 'Ogwats, I have to go there too see if they're alright. Plus I gotta get my wand back."

"Okay," Harry said.

"After we go to 'Ogwats, then I'll lead you to the safe houses where Ron and Hermione are." 

"That sounds good. I was wondering what happened to them. They're absolutely safe in there, right?" Harry asked.

"Well," Ginny paused. "They used to be safe, but now, I'm not so sure anymore," Ginny said sadly.

"Why not?" Harry and Draco asked at the same time.

"Because more and more safe houses are being discovered as the days pass by. The magic isn't fading on them, but the Death Eaters are gaining knowledge on how to break all of the spells. I don't know how they're getting the knowledge, but it's starting to scare me," she explained with fear in her voice.

"Don't worry, Ginny. Soon we'll be able to stop him so people won't have to live like this anymore," Harry said while comforting her. 

"I guess.,.." Ginny's voice trailed off.

"Did either of you happen to see the other identities of the Death Eaters?" Harry asked. "I knew Lucius, Rookwood, and Bellatrix. But who were the other two?"

"One of them was Bode," Draco said reassuringly. "As for the silent one, I am clueless. What about you, Ginny?"

"I didn't recognize the silent one, either. I saw that one run away while Harry was fighting the Death Eaters. I would have told you, but I was in the bushes."

"That's okay," Harry said. The trail they were walking on in the woods suddenly ended and they came into another clearing. They were taking this path to avoid any further conflict with dementors or Death Eaters. "How about we have lunch?" Harry asked the duo. 

"That sounds good," Ginny replied. 

"_Ascendio sandwiches!_" Harry said, while summoning their lunch.

"So how far away from here is 'Ogwats?" Draco asked after chewing his sandwich.

"Its not that far. I think we can make it there by tomorrow night if we keep walking today and stop to eat and sleep," Ginny said. Draco nodded his head in approval. 

"Do you think anyone will find us in this clearing? After all, it is pretty big," Draco said with concern.

At the words "pretty big," Harry thought of the little incident at the lake earlier with Draco. _AAH! No! Make it stop! _He thought while violently shaking his head.

"Harry? Are you okay?"

"Uh…yeah," he lied.

"Wow, Potter. You truly are a spazz," Draco commented.

"Like I was saying," Ginny stated. "I think we'll be perfectly fine out here. The Death Eaters are too busy looking for the safe houses to bother with us at the moment. And besides, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is too busy killing the ones he finds and gaining more power."

"True," Draco said.

When the trio were finished eating lunch, they proceeded down the clearing. It lead them to another wooded area, only this time, it was much darker than before with taller and shadier trees. Lucky enough for them, there was another dirt trail to follow. Once they entered the woods, darkness settled over them. It was extremely difficult to see and only patches of light were visible every now and then. It didn't help that the sun was setting slowly.

"Isn't there any other way we can go to 'Ogwats?" 

"No. I'm afraid that this is the only trail," Ginny said with regret. 

"Where are you people?" Draco asked, obviously annoyed.

"Over here!" Ginny called to him. 

"I can't see anything," he replied angrily. Harry imagined that Draco had a scowl on his face, just like he always does when he's angry or annoyed.

"Harry, did you just grab my ass?" Draco asked him while furious.

Harry laughed and then said, "No, from where I am standing, that is a physical impossibility."

"That was me," Ginny stated calmly. Harry knew that she did it on purpose though. 

"You little weasel! I would strangle you right now, but fortunately enough for you, I can't see."

"You know you liked it."  Then Harry heard a loud spanking sound.

"ARGH! WILL YOU STOP TOUCHING MY BUM?!" 

Ginny giggled and said, "Okay fine. Hold my hand now. It will be easier for us to find each other that way."

"Weasley, I don't want to make any physical contact with you ever unless it's my fist meeting your face!"

"Well too bad for you!" Ginny said as she grabbed his hand and tugged him along the path. Meanwhile, Harry was very amused by the whole thing and he was laughing in the background. It pleased him to know that someone could boss Draco around.

"Shut up, Potter," was all Malfoy could think of to say.

Harry didn't reply to Draco. He didn't want to anger him even more than he already was. Harry was surprised that he knew his way around the forest without ever being here. _At least I don't think I was ever here. _He knew every twist and turn like it was his own home he was walking through. _This is creepy, _he thought. Ginny and Draco were closely behind him, occasionally missing turns and bumping into each other. Harry didn't tell him that he knew the way around the woods, mainly because he wanted to keep the moment to himself for fear of how they would react, and partially because he thought they were a great source of entertainment while bumping into each other. 

"You watch where you're going!" Draco exclaimed.

"I can't see anything, you moron!" Ginny replied.

"And will you stop holding my hand? I feel like I'm your slave."

"If you want, we can arrange that," she said furtively.

"Don't mess with me, Weasley. You don't know what you're getting yourself into."

"I think I do. I've got you all figured out, Malfoy. You're the sweet, sensitive type that tried to hide his true feelings behind sarcasm." 

"That's a lie!" he yelled.

"Is not."

"Is too."

Harry shook his head at the both of them. _When will they ever learn to stop acting like children?_ Just then, Harry's straight path was disrupted when he walked into something in front of him. He fell down at the surprise of hitting something unexpected. _That's not right. This isn't part of the trail. It's not supposed to be here. It's not supposed to be…_

He stood up and felt the thing in front of him. He felt it moving. It was breathing. Harry looked up as if to see the face of whatever it was, but he couldn't because of the darkness. The thing picked him up and brought him to its face as if responding to Harry's previous action. He felt its strong grip and its talons. It was holding Harry by its foot. Harry's curiosity overcame his fear, so he didn't try to escape the thing's grasp. As he moved upwards towards the thing, he gasped when he saw its identity. He remembered seeing a few of these before, but it was a vague memory that didn't seem accurate. 

_Yes, _he thought _this is definitely a dragon. _Harry could see it clearly now. Its body was scaly with massive black wings that matched its strong body. But its most remarkable feature was its eyes. They peered at him throughthe darkness, while watching him intently. They seemed to gaze into Harry's soul. The red eyes were so demonic looking and Harry couldn't help but admire the creature's beauty. After what seemed like an eternity of staring at the amazing beast, it roared and fire emerged from the mouth, catching some nearby trees on fire. 

Harry heard Ginny shriek. "Harry, Where are you? We have to get out of here! There's a fire!"

            The dragon's grasp on Harry tightened so he could just barely make out the words, "It's a dragon! It's got me!" 

The dragon dropped Harry accidentally because it was startled by Harry's voice. Harry fell a few feet to the ground and hit the ground with a loud thud.Pain coursed through his body rapidly. He was wondering if the creature broke his spine or paralyzed him because of the intense agony. He willed himself to stand up to defend himself and his friends against the dragon. But when he stood up, the creature was nowhere that Harry could see. The darkness spread after the beast dropped him. He couldn't find his friends, either. Right after he wondered where they were, he heard Draco's voice.

"No! Don't hurt her!" Harry followed the direction of his voice. Then he heard an agonizing scream that belonged to Draco. Harry never heard a scream that intense before. It sounded like his blood was spilling all over the cursed land and like his life was being taken away from him. _No he can't die! _Harry thought with rage. He ran over to Draco, who was on the ground and silent with a deep crimson gash across his stomach.

"Draco! Draco!" Harry chanted, trying to get him up. Ginny was by his side, trying to awaken him as well. It was no use. Draco was gone. Ginny started sobbing and she sank to the floor in misery to touch his face. 

"Ginny, worry about him later. We got ourselves a dragon to battle!" he said eagerly. 

"Oh…right," she replied with sadness in her voice.

"_Peef!_" Harry shouted while aiming at the dragon. His spell missed and shot through the trees. The dragon attacked with its fire and Harry was lucky enough to duck and pull Ginny out of the way.

"_Rictusempra!" _Ginny said while forcing herself to forget about Draco. The animal tripped and wheezed loudly, which made it hard to get its large body afoot again.

"_Takuro!_" Harry yelled while making the dragon scream. The spell that he used caused major amounts of internal pain, although none was visible on the outside. After it finished screaming, it used its only weapon again to burn Ginny's left hand. She screamed as well.

"_Stupefy_" Ginny said while still in pain and stunning the dark dragon. The dragon's body was partially frozen, but it still glared at her with those mischievous red eyes. Because it was so strong, it could still fight back, but barely. 

"_Tarantallegra!_" Harry said. The dragon's legs kept jerking out of control. It was impossible to stop it, without a counter jinx. This wore out the animal's last ounces of energy, and after a few minutes, it lay there unconscious. 

"Good work, Ginny!" Harry said nicely. However, Ginny seemed to be ignoring him. As soon as the dragon was defeated, she ran over to Draco's side. He still wasn't moving and his wound was still pouring out his blood.

"Draco please speak to me," she pleaded eagerly. No sound emerged from his thin lips. 

            "Ginny, forget it. He's gone," Harry said unemotionally. 

            "I refuse to believe that!" She gently picked him up and tried carrying him out of the forest as fast as she could. He was too heavy for her to lift alone. By now, it would be difficult to escape, because the fire has grown so large. Harry should have realized that sooner, but he was too caught up in the battle to notice. 

            "Let me help you, then."  Harry knew that Ginny was too stubborn to move without Draco, so he reluctantly gave in. He knew it was hopeless. He knew Draco had died already, but he grabbed Draco's feet as Ginny took his head anyway. Together, they moved swiftly out of the forest and into another clearing, while dodging the fire and relying on Harry's instincts to overcome the darkness.


	5. Dreams, Deaths, and Drag Queens

         Disclaimer: I don't own anything that has to do with Harry Potter, except the lame spells, the plot, the weird owl, the dagger, and the name "Pauline" haha. I wasn't inspired by lyrics this time, but I did use a quote from Paradise Kiss #4. I give thanks to my sis, Vanessa, who thought of most of the "Pauline" thing. I also give thanks to my BFF, Meeny, who inspired me to put DS in here. Special thanks to Steve Irwin, who I always make fun of (he's the crock hunter hehehe.) 

         A/N: I'm presently working on chapter 6, but it may take longer than usual to post it up because I need to look up more spells for fights. There's not much action in this chapter, but I promise more in the next one. This chapter has a little romance and a little humor. Enjoy and please review! 

                  **Chapter 5: Dreams, Deaths, and Drag Queens**

Once Harry and Ginny escaped the fire, they placed Draco down on the floor gently. Ginny was in a state of panic. She kept calling his name, hoping and praying that he would answer. Harry had a more sensible idea. He decided to check his pulse.

"I've got a pulse!" Harry said in disbelief. 

"Yay! That's wonderful, Harry," Ginny said while obviously pleased. 

Ginny put her ear next to Draco's chest to listen to his heartbeat. With the wide smile on her face, Harry knew that it was probably the best sound she ever heard and she must really like him a lot. As Ginny let out a sigh, Draco's gray eyes snapped open to look at her and he gave a lopsided smile. She didn't see him do that, but Harry did. Then, Draco closed his eyes again, pretending to be unconscious. _He must have been enjoying the attention. I shouldn't spoil it for him. _

"I'll go look for herbs to mend his wounds," Harry said as Ginny touched Draco's soft blond hair affectionately.

Harry searched the clearing for plants that could be used for medicine. He found nothing. He was never good at herbology anyway. Healing Draco with his wand wouldn't help either, because neither he nor Ginny were professional healers. After Harry spent ten minutes looking for herbs, he gave up. Draco would just have to use his shirt to stop the blood. When he returned, Ginny was still giving Draco attention. _So, he decided not to stop pretending? Now I must spoil his fun. He shouldn't make Ginny worry like that._

"Ginny, he's awake, you know," Harry said while Ginny was leaning on him.

"No he's not, Harry. I'm worried about him. What if he stays unconscious forever?"

Then Harry thought of a great plan to make him admit that he was awake. "Hmm….well Ginny, do you think we should take all of his clothes off to search for more wounds?" Ginny nodded her head eagerly. _She clearly fancies him, _he thought. 

"Hold on a minute!" Draco exclaimed. 

"I knew you were awake, Malfoy," Harry said coolly. 

Ginny looked confused. He knew she didn't understand why he pretended to be unconscious. 

Draco looked at Ginny and said, "Get off of me, little weasel. I told you I don't want any physical contact with you."

Ginny looked hurt. Harry said slyly, "Well you didn't seem to mind when she was all over you when you were 'unconscious.'" 

Draco gave Harry a cold stare while still laying down. Then Ginny did something that seemed odd to both boys. She sat on Draco and started taking off his shirt. 

"You're undressing me in front of Potter? You naughty little weasel!" Draco said to her, grinning. "I know you want me, but can't it wait till later?" 

"Don't be stupid, Draco. I'm checking to see how big your wounds are and making sure that they're not still bleeding." It sounded weird to Harry to hear her use his first name.

"Oh…" Draco sounded disappointed. He changed his attitude quickly and said, "Well make it quick. I don't like you touching me."

She finished taking off his shirt to reveal his chest. She started gently rubbing him there.

"My cuts aren't there. Quit fooling around," he said while annoyed. 

"You're no fun," Ginny replied while looking at the gashes on his stomach. The cuts formed a jagged line across his stomach that made it look like he was severed in half. "Well, at least the bleeding stopped," she commented. "Does it hurt?" 

"Of course it hurts!" Draco replied while yelling. "Now will you get off of me?" 

"Fine," Ginny said.

Meanwhile, Harry was laughing at them again. It was so obvious that they liked each other. Draco was just trying to maintain his reputation of being a git. Harry looked up at the sky. The moon was about to come out. 

"Maybe its best if we get some sleep. We've been through a rough day today," Harry said. 

"Really? I thought it was rather amusing."

"Draco," Harry paused. "You're an ass."  Draco frowned at him and Ginny laughed. 

"Yeah I'm pretty tired," Ginny said sleepily.

They all said good night to each other. Harry watched Draco and Ginny as they fell asleep on the soft green grass. His thoughts kept him awake again. _I'm still wondering why I woke up in the alley. How did I get there? Was it intentional?_ Remembering the scolding Lucius gave the one called, "Number Five," he asked himself if that person was ordered to kill him. After thinking for what seemed like hours, he finally fell asleep.

Harry woke up the next morning startled and gasping for air. His dreams even taunted him. He remembered everything clearly, as if it actually happened. The silent Death Eater took Harry while he was sleeping and put a silent charm on him. He woke up in intense pain. Why was he in so much pain? Number Five put a magnet charm on him as well, so his hands and feet were bonded together. He couldn't fight back. He couldn't reach for his wand. He couldn't even struggle. _Oh yes, this one is definitely intelligent, _he thought while fearing for his life. Number Five took him out of his dorm bed at 'Ogwats and ran while carrying him and stealing Harry's invisibility cloak. Number Five ran so far, even past the familiar woods and both of the clearings. Harry could see every twist and every turn that they made. He could hear Number Five talking to him and laughing menacingly. The voice sounded so familiar, but he couldn't place the face to the voice. Number Five ran with him. They ran with great speed until they reached the dark alley he woke up in a few days ago. Number Five threw him down there, while laughing victoriously. Then the world went blank.

_Well, that was weird, _Harry thought. _Did it actually mean something or was it just my overactive imagination? _Harry decided to just ignore it and continue on with his life. He checked to see if Draco and Ginny were still sleeping and sure enough, they were. The sun had just started to rise. It must have been about six o'clock. He sat there for a few minutes, while pondering. It hurt to think right now. He wanted to stop thinking, but he couldn't. He was never good at meditation, so that was out of the question. He needed a distraction and immediately found one. He saw a small rabbit running along the field. He started to follow it, eager to escape his thoughts and his boredom. It spotted him. It ran away from him swiftly and Harry charged after it. The creature ran in circles and Harry followed. 

Harry pretended to be a crocodile hunter when he said, "Ah, that's a crock, mate. Blimey! Look at him run! I gots to preserve it in my pocket and save it for later."

"What in the world are you doing? You really do have the attention span of an avocado," Draco snickered while sitting up straight. 

Harry felt his cheeks flush. How could he explain this? He couldn't just tell Draco about his dream like it was something ordinary. He had a feeling that it really was accurate. If Harry told Draco, he feared that the latter would question his sanity. _Although, he's probably doing that this minute._

"I'm err…hunting," Harry lied.

"Why bother hunting when you have your wand? And what are you doing up this early anyway? You woke me up with your…well with whatever you're doing," Draco said annoyed as usual. 

Ginny woke up at the sound of Draco's voice. "What's going on?" she asked unsurely. Nobody answered her.

"See what you did, Potter? You woke everybody up. I hope you're happy, you selfish prat."

Harry shrugged and said, "Sorry" in a quiet voice. _At least my thoughts were gone for a few minutes._

"Well, as long as we're all awake, we should start walking to 'Ogwats," Ginny suggested. 

"Okay," Harry said eagerly. Perhaps his companions could distract him from his nagging thoughts. Draco responded with a grunt. Clearly, he would rather be sleeping. _Typical Malfoy, _Harry thought. 

They continued walking down the clearing after having breakfast. It seemed to last forever. Harry thought he was going to die of exhaustion. Finally, the trio came to a road. (_Wow, an actual road! I haven't seen one in days, _Harry thought excitedly.) They followed the road without speaking much until they went past the lake that the first years crossed and soon enough, they reached the large oak doors that lead into 'Ogwats. 

The outside of the building looked the same that they had left it (save for the overgrown grass), but the inside of it looked completely different. It looked like someone had been living in it for a while without bothering to clean. The floors were all dusty and random plates were lying around the former school. It looked completely deserted. They traveled past Dumbledore's office, where the stone gargoyle that guarded it was chipped and moldy. The hallways smelled so horrible that all three of them had to cover their noses to avoid breathing in the foul air. The pictures on the wall had no people in them. _They must have fled when they heard the news about Voldemort as well, _he thought. There was graffiti on some of the common rooms. The owlry was completely deserted. They checked all of the common rooms, except for Slytherin. Nobody was in sight.

Just as they were about to give up hope of finding some people, Draco said, "Why don't we check out the Slytherin common room? That's the only place we haven't checked. There might be someone…" 

"No, Draco. I think that would be a waste of time. The house elves aren't even here. If they left, then everyone else must have," Harry replied.

"Look, Potter," Draco said angrily. "I need to find my friends, too."

"You had friends? Who knew?" Harry joked.  

Draco ignored him while saying, "Crabbe and Goyle are the only ones stupid enough to hang around here. I know they're here."

"If you insist, then I guess we could look…" Harry's voice trailed off.

They proceeded down the corridor that lead to the Slytherin common room. Draco pushed the forsaken picture aside and went into the portrait hole. What they saw made them all gasp. 

Crabbe and Goyle were lying on the floor dead. Their faces were ghastly pale and their bodies limp from what Harry recognized as the killing curse. _Either the dementors or the Death Eaters have gotten to them before we did, _Harry thought with sympathy. He truly did feel bad for Draco at this moment. He glanced over to him and saw a sad face. Draco noticed that Harry was watching and he quickly changed his emotional expression into a cold glare at Harry. _I know he's really hurt right now. He's just trying to conceal it with the glare. I understand,_ Harry thought as he remembered what it felt like to have loved ones die. There was a short silence after this. Ginny stood still with her mouth hung open in disbelief. 

"Those idiots," Draco said coldly, while breaking the silence. 

"I'm sorry," Ginny said to Draco. 

"Yeah so am I," Harry admitted. 

"Don't be," Draco responded in a calm voice. "They had it coming."

_How can anyone think that way about his friends? _Then Harry remembered that it was Draco, after all. He was always mean and inconsiderate, even if he was just using at as a cover-up to hide his true feelings of depression. 

Suddenly, they heard a voice coming from the hallway. Harry's first instinct was to hide, but he immediately forgot about it as he recognized the familiar voice. He couldn't remember whose it was, though.

As if answering Harry's thought, Ginny said in disbelief, "Harry! It's professor Snape!" The two of them rushed out to greet him, even if they didn't like him. _Maybe he has some valuable information,_ Harry thought with interest. Harry noticed that Draco hesitated to join them. He knew that Draco wanted a moment of peace with his friend's corpses, as if pleading to say one final goodbye to them. He left Draco alone and followed Ginny.

"Merlin's beard!" Harry said while extremely surprised at Snape's appearance. He was wearing a pink frilly dress with matching high heels. He wore gold hoop earrings and put his newly dyed blond hair in pigtails as if he was a little schoolgirl. On his face was a ton of makeup that included blush, mascara, lipstick, foundation, etc. His nails matched his hot pink dress. Harry glanced over towards Ginny to see what her expression was like. She looked surprised, but excited as well. Harry thought that was rather peculiar. 

"Uh…Professor Snape?" Harry asked.

"What? Who is this Snape character?" He responded while perplexing Harry even more. "I am known as Pauline."

"Err…okaaaay," Harry said while raising his eyebrows. Ginny giggled. 

Draco entered into the hallway. "What…the…HELL?!" he said while pausing in-between words. 

"This is Pauline," Harry said to Draco, while still bewildered. 

"Riiiight," Draco said. "And I'm Jesus from Dream Street."

"Pleased to meet you, Jesus," Pauline said kindly.

"Err…yeah…sure…" Draco replied.

"Who's Jesus from Dream Street?" Harry asked curiously.

"Its this queer 12 year old from a boy band I think," Draco replied while unsure of himself.

"Oh yeah now I remember who they are!"

"His name is Jesse," Ginny stated matter-of-factly. "And I happen to like Dream Street." Both boys roared with laughter. They apparently thought this was much more funnier than Snape dressed in drag. "And he's not 12! He's 16!" They laughed even harder now. 

"They're so horrible. I thought my ears were bleeding when I listened to them," Harry said while still laughing. "That's the kind of music the Death Eaters should play to torture their victims." 

"Why didn't they name themselves 'Dream Avenue' or 'Dream Lane'? Or even better… 'Dream Circle'?"  Draco asked while mocking the band.

Ginny's temper was rising. "Because they're Dream Street! The name sounds cuter that way."

"Wow my stomach hurts even more now with laughing so much," Draco said while ignoring her.

Harry looked at Pauline's face. She was obviously confused. Eager to change the subject, Ginny said, "I'm so proud that you transformed from such a timid, young boy into such an elegant lady!"

"Oh thank you, young miss. But I was never a boy," Pauline replied. 

"Yeah I remember the time that you used to flaunt your panties around school," Harry said with laughter. (A/N: refer to the 5th book. "Snape's Worst Memory")

"You weren't supposed to tell anyone about that," Pauline said.

"Oh yeah I remember that!" Ginny said with recognition. They all turned to stare at her. "What?" she asked them. Harry shook his head and thought of a question to ask Pauline. 

"Now, erm.. Pauline. Do you have any information about the Dark Lord or where the students from 'Ogwats went?"

"No, sorry. But I do have frilly white socks. Would you like to buy some?"

"Uh, no thanks," Harry declined.

"How about you, miss?" Pauline asked Ginny. "Would you like any, Jesus?"

"I'll take some!" Ginny said eagerly. "How much are they?" 

"They cost five air pellets." By now, Harry thought he would loose his mind if he stayed any longer. Ginny, however, seemed to be enjoying herself. She gave Pauline five fists full of air and she gave Ginny white frilly socks. 

"Thanks, Pauline!"

"No problem, miss," she replied.

Pauline insisted that she should go to have her four o'clock tea, even though it was only one o'clock. She skipped down the hallway and vanished into another corridor. 

"What in the world was that about?" Harry asked.

"I don't know. But it seems like the little weasel over here made a new friend," Draco glanced over at Ginny, who was admiring the frilly socks.

"What? They're cute!" she said.

"Snape is a weirdo. I always knew he was hiding something from us…" Harry said.

"He wasn't hiding anything. I came to the conclusion a while ago that he was placed under a memory charm and it made him unaware of his identity," Ginny replied.

"But his gender too? Come on. I don't buy that," Harry said while Draco didn't seem to have an opinion. He was silent again. _He must be thinking about his friends still._

"Don't you remember what happened to Lockheart? This must have been a very powerful witch or wizard who committed this crime. With a powerful spell caster, anything is possible." 

"I guess…" Harry's voice trailed off. _She does have a point, _he thought. "But wouldn't someone have taken him to St. Mungo's to get help?" 

"Don't forget that people were trying to save themselves at this time, Harry. They were too busy to help poor Snape," Ginny said sadly.

Together, they left 'Ogwats disappointed (well except for Ginny because she liked the frilly socks a lot). They marched down the stone steps and walked past the lake to travel on the road again. As they left, Harry realized that their journey has only just begun.  


	6. Goomba Vs Hagrawp

            Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from Harry Potter. They all belong to J.K. Rowling, that lucky lady. I only own the lame spells, the plot, the weird owl, the dagger, etc. I don't own the names "Ogg" and "Ulana" because I took that from the 2003 Global History Regents Exam (sadd, huh?) but I thought the names were funny. "Goomba" is from Mario, of course. Vanessa (my sis) gave me ideas for this chapter, so I owe a lot of credit to her. Thanks, N!

            A/N: I'm starting to run out of cool band lyrics for inspiration! ARGH! If anyone has any good pain and suffering lyrics, then please share them with me by giving me the song/band name in reviews. Let me know what you think of my story as well. 

                                    **Chapter 6: Goomba vs. Hagrawp**

As they were exiting 'Ogwats, Ginny had an idea. "I just thought of a short cut so we could get to the safe house faster!"

"Where is it?" Harry asked.

"Well, if we want to take that route, then we'll have to cut through the Forbidden Forest." Harry seemed to have no problem with this sudden suggestion, but Draco gave them a look of terror and then quickly tried to hide his fearful expression. He remembered that one time he was in the forest and he was very afraid. He clearly planned not to go back in there anytime soon.

"Must we go that way?" Draco said in a small voice.

"Well, it could help us save the world from Voldemort faster," Harry said eagerly. Both Ginny and Draco flinched at the name. 

"You're not scared, are you Draco?" Ginny inquired. 

"No," he snapped quickly so he made the truth evident. 

"Come on, Malfoy. There's nothing to be afraid of," Harry said.

"I know that, Potter," Draco said unsurely.

"Okay then. It's settled. Let's traverse the forbidden forest."

They cut across the overgrown grass as a look of dread formed on Draco's face. The trio stumbled upon Hagrid's house. _I wonder where he is, _Harry thought. 

"Do you think Hagrid is still here?" Harry asked. 

"I doubt it," Ginny replied. 

"That overgrown half blood?" Draco taunted. "He probably is still here tending to his vicious beasts that he claims are 'nice'." 

Harry didn't respond to Draco's jeer. He didn't want to upset him, especially after seeing his friends dead on the floor. _This is just his way of expressing his loss, _he thought. However, Ginny didn't seem to feel the same way.

"Stop talking about Hagrid like he's worthless," she told Draco. "He is a great person!"

"Weasley, I'm not in the mood to argue with someone who likes Dream Street," he said furtively.

"Humph!" Ginny replied while outraged. Harry laughed.

As their conversation died, they entered the forbidden forest. It looked the same as Harry had last seen it. There were many trees and overgrown shrubbery. It reminded him of the first woods that he and Draco had passed through. There was something not quite right about it, even though it seemed the same. Instead of wild creatures roaming around, there was nothing. There weren't any signs of life around. The forest was completely silent, in an ominous sort of way. 

"Where did all of the animals go?" Harry asked while hesitating to break the silence.

"I don't know," Ginny replied. Draco had a relieved look on his face.

"Oh well. At least it will be easier to cross now without any distractions."

They walked for a few minutes while proceeding deeper into the woods. They kept to the trail, hoping not to separate or get lost. It was easy to wander away with all of the overgrown trees and a path that was tricky to follow. Then they heard a sound for the first time while they were in the forest that was not created by them. It sounded human. _That's odd, _Harry thought. _I wonder who could be here. I seriously doubt if it's Hagrid. _Harry's eyes darted over the plants to attempt to see where the sound came from. Then he spotted it.

"Over there!" he said to Ginny and Draco. 

They had a bit of difficulty wading in the knee-length grasses and weeds as they abandoned the trail temporarily. Then they saw him. Hagrid was standing in the middle of the weeds with an unreadable expression on his face. He was wearing only a loincloth and was carrying a club in his left hand. 

"Hagrid? Hagrid is that you? Hagrid from the Brentwood library?" Ginny asked while surprised to see him.

"Where's Brentwood?" Draco wondered while clearly questioning her state of mind. 

Ginny was about to answer, but she was cut off by Hagrid's voice. "Grawp die. Hagrid now Hagrawp."

"What?" Harry asked bewildered. He thought about the situation for a few moments. I understand now. _Hagrid has undoubtedly lost his mind. He cared for Grawp so much. Now that he's gone, Hagrid tried to preserve the memory of Grawp by trying to become him. _

Behind Hagrid, they saw a small stone cave. _That must be where he lives now._ Attached to the cave was Fang on a leash. He looked the same, unlike Hagrid. Ginny ignored Hagrid and wend next to Fang, who was just sitting there, instead of using his usual excitement to see visitors. 

"Hello, Fang," Ginny said while petting him. Fang still sat there as if he was unaware of the attention he was getting. _Fang must have been affected by Grawp's death as well. They were probably good friends. _

"Fang-Mon no like Ulana!" Hagrid said to her in broken English.

"Who's Ulana?" Ginny asked stupidly.

Hagrid pointed to Ginny. Fang ran after her, intending to bite her. Hagrid uttered a loud roar as Fang charged after her. Draco and Harry followed Ginny, even though Fang wasn't running after them. They didn't want to be separated, especially in the Forbidden Forest and their newest enemy. 

Then they heard Hagrid's battle cry in the distance. "Thorg hungry! Thorg want eat!"

"I thought….his name….was Hagrawp…" Draco panted while running with Harry and Ginny. There was no reply from either of them. They were too busy running to answer. Then Harry had an idea.

"_Reducio_!" he said while his wand was aimed at Fang-Mon, who dramatically shrunk in size so he couldn't keep up to their fast pace.

"Great idea, Harry," Ginny said.

Just then, they heard loud stomps coming from the background. They knew that the source of the sound was coming from Hagrid. He was getting closer. Harry's mind was on what his former friend would do to him in his strange condition. They instantly abandoned the trail and went deeper into the forest. Harry was beginning to wonder if he would ever escape this horrid place. They had lost their way and it seemed difficult to breathe while running. The air seemed to disappear. Harry felt closed in, so he could just barely breathe. The tall trees towered over him, suffocating him and depriving him from the warmth of sunlight. He could hear his companions saying something to him, but he couldn't make out the words. He only wanted to fall and to let the blackness take him. . He could not go on any longer. His feet ached from pounding on the dirt so fast. He was still running. Running from his problems, again. Running from death. Running. Running. Running. Harry let the blackness engulf him as he passed out.

            Harry opened his eyes to see an unknown area. He was chained to a wall. _Oh no, _he thought. _He captured me. _He saw Draco and Ginny, who were chained the same way that he was. 

            "Where are we?" He asked them.

            "Welcome to Hagrawp's layer. May I take your order?" Draco said sarcastically with a furious look on his face.

            "This is not the time to be joking!" Ginny said irritated.

            He glared at her for a brief second then looked away. "See what you did, Potter? If it weren't for your blackout in the woods, I would be having tea and crumpets right now in a safe house. But _no_, I'm stuck here chained to the wall with you people!" When neither of them said anything, he continued. "You should work out more, Potter. Then maybe you'd have a girlfriend."

Harry was about to respond, but Hagrid entered the room. Harry automatically reached for his wand, only to find out that it had been missing. _Now I'm screwed._

"Thorg make stew. Thorg make stew with Ulana, Ogg, and Goomba in it. Thorg happy!" Hagrid said cheerfully.

Since fighting was impossible at the moment, Harry tried a different approach. "But Hagrid, don't you remember us? We're not Ulana, Ogg, and Goomba. I'm Harry. Draco is over there and Ginny is next to him. Don't you remember us at all?"

Hagrawp paused as if he as thinking. Then he said, "Not nice to trick Hagrawp! Not Nice!"

"He's not fooling you, Hagrid. Can't you remember anything?" Ginny asked him. 

"NO!" Hagrid yelled while his temper got the best of him. He proceeded to Harry and unchained him while gripping his arms so hard that they turned red. He threw Harry on the ground while picking up a stone. He held the stone above his head maliciously while Harry lie pathetically on the ground without a weapon. Hagrid looked insane with his unkempt hair standing on edge and his large figure hovering over Harry's body. Hagrid's eyed widened and he formed an eerie smile while laughing. 

"Goomba killed Grawp two weeks ago! Goomba must DIE!!!" Hagrid shouted. 

"No, no. You've got it all wrong! I never killed Grawp. I promised to teach him English. Don't you remember that? I said I would take care of him if you left 'Ogwats," Harry stated calmly while trying to reason with him. 

"I remember," Hagrid said as a grin spread on Harry's face. "Then you killed him!"

The stone came smashing down towards Harry as he caught Hagrid's furious expression. Harry quickly moved his head so that he avoided the harsh blow from the stone. The cement floor smashed next to him. Hagrid looked confused. Harry took the chance to get up and take his wand. He pointed it at Hagrid threateningly. 

"Don't make me do this," He warned Hagrid. "Please just listen to me."

Hagrid ignored Harry's words and ran in Harry's direction. He obviously intended to smash Harry's small body with his own large one, but again, Harry moved out of the way. Hagrid hit the stone wall, but appeared to be uninjured. He did more damage to the wall than the wall did to him because it cracked. While Hagrid took some time to wipe off the fragments from his body, Harry tried to save Draco and Ginny. It didn't work because they were too firmly chained to the wall. Only Hagrid's strength would release them. 

"Harry, watch out!" Ginny yelled as Hagrid advanced on him. He tried to strangle Harry, but the latter ducked out of the way.

"_Stupefy!_" Harry shouted. The spell jerked Hagrid's body once, but then he recovered quickly and seemed to be unaffected by it after that because of his large frame. 

"Its not working!" Harry told his companions.

"Well, that's evident," Draco said uncaringly. Ginny seemed to not have an opinion, because she was deep in thought. 

Harry ran across Hagrid's layer in a feeble attempt to get away from him, but Hagrid gripped him by the leg to stop him. Harry was dragged on the floor with one leg attached to Hagrid's hand. His glasses fell off, as he knew this was the end for him. _At least I won't be able to see myself being beaten to a pulp,_ he thought miserably. Hagrid grabbed Harry's neck with one hand and held him so he couldn't reach the floor. Harry was losing air quickly because his grasp made it difficult for him to breathe. He could feel his face turning red as Hagrid's grip tightened around his neck. _If only he could remember…_

"Lucius!" Ginny shouted randomly. Draco looked at her with a confused expression on his face. Hagrid dropped Harry so that he slammed to the floor. They also turned to look at her. 

"Lucius Malfoy killed Grawp," Ginny explained. 

"How do you know?" Harry asked her in disbelief.

"Hagrid said that you killed Grawp two weeks ago," Ginny said.

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?" 

"Well I was thinking about the Death Eaters," Ginny said reasonably while Hagrid was listening. "Two weeks ago, they discovered the main safe house. I found out from my dad. Remember that he worked for the Ministry of Magic? Well we have spies just like the Death Eaters do, since the newspapers have all gone out of business. All of the Death Eaters were recognizable when finding the safe house except for Lucius Malfoy, so he doesn't have an alibi. He must have been here killing Grawp."

 "See, Hagrid? I told you I didn't do it," Harry said reassuringly.

Hagrid had a look of surprise on his face. When there was no response, Harry asked, "Now do you remember, Hagrid?"

"It all seems ter make sense, 'Arry," he responded with his usual deep voice. Harry and Ginny had wide grins on their faces. Draco couldn't have looked more bored. "Now I remember 'im killin Grawpy," He said sadly. "He used the killin curse. I saw 'im do it. When he saw me, I ran but he tied me arms and legs t'gether with some sorta charm. Then he took me back ter a room. He convinced me that 'Arry did it. He told me until I believed it. He made me try ter kill 'Arry. I'm so ashamed!" 

"Its okay, Hagrid," Harry said while comforting him as he was sobbing. 

"It's not okay, 'Arry!" he said while tears streamed down his face. "At leas' let me get yer friends down from up there," Hagrid said as he broke the chains on Ginny and Draco's arms and legs.

"Thanks, Hagrid," Ginny said sweetly. Draco responded with a grunt. 

"Yer welcome, Ginny," Hagrid replied as he began to cheer up. "Now what are yeh doin' over hare anyway's?" Hagrid asked.

"We're trying to find the safe house that my family is staying at," Ginny said.

"We also want to know more information about Voldemort and where he is currently," Harry added.

"Oh I see. Well make sure ter know yer way aroun' the forest. There're some mighty beastly creatures out there." 

"But Hagrid, we saw no creatures there," Harry said while confused.

"Yeh see no creatures, but trus' me. They're out there waitin' for yeh."

Harry wasn't sure what he meant by the last sentence, but he decided to proceed with caution. 

"Speakin' o' creatures, where's Fang?" 

"Sorry, Hagrid. I shrank him because he was chasing me. I slowed him down a bit, but I'm not sure where he went off to," Harry replied.

"Tha's okay, 'Arry. I'll look for 'im later."

"I have only one question," Draco interrupted. "What is a Grawp?"

"Grawp is Hagrid's brother. He was a giant. Hagrid kept him in the Forbidden Forest so that nobody would find out about him, but it looks like it was too late…" Harry's voice trailed off.  He realized that this was a painful subject to discuss for Hagrid. 

Ginny quickly changed the subject. "Well I think we should be leaving now, Hagrid. Would you like to join us? You could come to the safe house with us. You've been through a lot. I'm sure they have extra beds and food so you can stay there."

"No thanks, Ginny. I'd rather stay here 'n look for Fang. I can't leave me home. Not at a time like this anyway."

"Are you sure?" Harry asked.

"Yep, pos'tive. Now be careful in the forest. I've warned yeh about the beasts there now. It looks all quiet and then the next thing yeh know, they turn on yeh."

"Alright. We'll keep that in mind," Harry said while wondering what kind of creatures Hagrid was talking about. 

"Oh n' thanks fer makin' me realize who I am again," Hagrid said lamely. 

"No problem," Harry and Ginny said together. Draco still looked annoyed. The trio started walking out of Hagrid's cave and onto the trail. 

"What's your problem?" Ginny asked Draco. "You didn't say much in there."

"Well if you really want to know, little weasel, then I will tell you. I was tortured and made a slave by dementors for two years, I was disowned by my father when I refused to become a Death Eater, my ass was smacked around a few times by a little weasel," he stopped to glare at her, then he continued. "I found out that my head of house had a sex change, I was chained to a wall by an idiot in a loin cloth, and worst of all, Potter saw me naked and lived to tell about it!" he yelled. "My life is a living hellhole!" 

Ginny's eyebrows shot up at the part where he mentioned nudity. "Okay, Harry," she said eagerly. "Details!"

Harry laughed while Draco's face turned red from either anger or embarrassment. It was hard to tell. When they stopped talking, Harry listened for any signs of life near them. Sure enough, he could hear them now. Whispers and rustles were barely audible from the creatures hiding in the plant overgrowth.

"Ginny! Malfoy! Do you hear that?" he asked them.

"What?" Ginny asked curiously.

"The whispers in the trees. Listen closely."

"I don't hear anything, Potter," Malfoy said.

"Me neither," Ginny said. 

"Has Hagrawp gotten to your head?" Draco teased.

"It's coming from this way!" Harry said while pointing deeper into the forest.

"Hagrid said not to go looking for trouble. Don't you remember? He told us not to go off the trail!" Ginny warned.

Harry couldn't help himself. It was the most interesting sound he's ever heard. It didn't sound human, but more like _half human_. The voices beckoned him to join them deeper in the woods. _But how is that possible?_ He wondered. He left the trail behind as he plunged into the woods. Ginny and Draco reluctantly followed. Harry led them through twists and turns, while following the voices and his instincts. He could make out what the voices were saying now. _"Come play with us," _they taunted. _"Everything you want is in here. Join us. Please join us."_ Harry should have listened to Ginny. He knew that while he was getting closer, but he couldn't stop himself. _I wish I could find the source of the voices, _he thought. He came to a halt as the vices stopped. He paused for several seconds, with Ginny and Draco close behind him. 

"Can we leave now?"  Draco asked while irritated. 

"Shh!" Harry snapped. 

He kept listening for any voices at all. _Please let me find the voices, _he begged. When he was about to give up after a few minutes of hearing nothing, he turned around to find that his wish had come true.


	7. Fighting in the Forbidden Forest

         Disclaimer: I don't feel like repeating what I already own. But I don't own any Harry Potter characters and basically nothing that has to do with Harry Potter except for the things I usually write in the other disclaimers. This time, I also took ideas from Vanessa and my friend Meeny. 

         A/N: I came to the conclusion that nobody is reading this, because I get hardly any reviews. So therefore, I am wasting my time typing this right now, which proves that I have no life. I have up to chapter 10 done, but I'm too lazy to upload it to fanfiction.net. I need encouragement (hint hint). 

                  **Chapter 7: Fighting in the Forbidden Forest**

Harry's mouth gaped at what he saw standing before him. It was the most horrible thing he had ever encountered. The beast was hideously ugly and half-human, just like Harry suspected. It was a centaur with a huge bouncy afro and manly chest hair, yet it was the most interesting specimen he had ever seen. It's upper half was human, and the rest was the body of a horse. Harry had never viewed this particular one before, even though he had spotted different ones roaming around the forest. Surrounding the creature were dark purple bats with overgrown fangs hanging over their thin mouths. Their bright green eyes glared back at Harry.

         Harry's attention was diverted from them as the centaur spoke. "We warned you to never set foot in this forest again, young foal. We gave you a chance to escape previously, but it looks like you foolishly chose to come back here. Very well. I will make sure that you don't make this mistake again." 

The last sentence spoken made Harry quiver with fear because of the tone in his voice. He knew that a battle was inevitable. Just as he thought this, the centaur charged after him. Two more hopped out from behind the trees and followed after the first did. Harry jumped out of the way swiftly as he was thankful for reflexes. With a strong charge like that, he could have died instantly and been stampeded to death. When the centaur's charges kept missing, it tried a different approach. It ceased charging and stopped in the middle of a run. It cupped its hands to form something. From where Harry was standing, he couldn't see it that well until it became prodigious. The centaur held up one hand, which contained a bright yellow sphere. It reminded Harry of the sun because it was blinding to look at and of mass proportions. As the creature was holding the sphere, it drew its arm back slowly, aiming at Harry. Meanwhile, the bats were hovering all around Harry, now making it difficult for him to see. With a flick of the wrist, the great yellow ball was lunged towards Harry, who had the sense to quickly duck out of the way, even though the bats were surrounding him. He breathed a sigh of relief because of his temporary success. 

Then they advanced on him. The purple bats circled around him extremely fast, while trying to make him dizzy and pass out. When this attempt failed, they automatically froze in their positions and spat green embers at him. They kept missing because of Harry's superb hand-eye coordination. One of the bats accidentally hit a nearby tree, which was engulfed in lime green flames instantly. Harry decided to take action instead of continuing to hop around stupidly while avoiding the bats.

"_Flipendo!_" He shouted at the nearest bat. Blue jets emerged from his wand as the bat was blown into a nearby tree and fell down onto the cold mossy ground. He used the same attack a few more times. Harry saw the centaur start to charge into him again.He thought of a brilliant plan. 

"_Serpensortia!_" he yelled. An emerald green snake came out of his wand. It coiled into a small ball, while awaiting orders from his new master. "Eliminate him," Harry said in Parseltongue. The snake immediately obeyed and slithered after the centaur. 

As Harry was battling more bats, it became easier for him to get rid of them. He could now watch the scene with no difficulty. He saw Draco and Ginny each battling their own centaurs and clusters of bats. They seemed to need no help. Harry's snake was chasing the centaur, which tried to throw the yellow spheres at it, but always missed because of its thin body and excellent slithering skills. Finally, the snake struck the centaur by viciously biting it in the hind leg. The centaur yelped in pain and fell to the ground. Harry suspected that it was dead because of the fast working poison. Harry trembled at the thought of ordering death upon something. _You had no choice, _he told himself calmly. _It was either the centaur or you. _

By this time, Harry had killed or knocked out all of the bats. _They were no match for me, _he thought conceitedly. Since he had nothing better to do, Harry decided to assist Draco, since he was closer and Harry was too lazy to walk to Ginny. Draco used a hex on some of the bats that melted their flesh so only bones were left. The foul clumps of flesh made splattering noises as they his the ground. 

"Uh, Draco? Don't you think that's kind of a cruel way to kill something?" Harry asked. 

"Yes, and that's why I love this hex," Draco said while grinning. "I think its rather amusing."

"You would, Malfoy," Harry snapped. 

"What are you doing here, anyway?" Draco asked while using a curse that made a bat throw up its organs. "Go help the weasel!"

"Ginny has everything under control," Harry stated after he said, "_Flipendo!_"

"So do I, Potter," Malfoy said while irritated. 

"You are out of control!"

"No I'm not!"  

Their argument was broken up by a blood-curdling scream that contradicted Harry's thoughts about Ginny. Both boys glanced over in her direction and saw that a bat was hooked to her arm, with its fangs piercing her skin. She was flailing her arms around while trying to get it off of her. Harry saw that Ginny still had her centaur to battle as well, while Draco and Harry's were defeated. Harry rushed over to help Ginny. 

"You stay here!" he ordered Draco. In response to this, Draco sneered at him. Harry said this to him for two reasons: the bats needed to be defeated and he didn't want Draco to turn the centaur into a mass of flesh as he did with the bats. _That would make me sick, _he thought. _How could Draco be so cruel?_ As he left Draco, he noticed how he burned the rest of the bats to death instantly. _Now I know why he was never good at defense against the dark arts. He's so much better at the dark arts themselves. _

When Harry reached Ginny, the bat's fangs were still in her arm, appearing to be draining her life fluids from her. Ginny started to turn a ghostly white, when Harry yelled "Petrificus Totalus!" to stop the bat from killing her. Harry realized that this wasn't the best approach when the bat froze and fell to the ground, with its fangs ripping violently out of her wound. The cut was much larger than it had been originally. Ginny went to thank him anyway, but fainted on the floor as more of her blood seeped through the dirt. In the distance, Harry saw Draco gruesomely murder the last bat and laugh. Then he ran over to them. 

"Ginny, love. Are you okay?" He asked her sympathetically while she was silently lying on the ground. Harry was about to say, "Of course she's not!" However, Draco using her first name and the word 'love' after it startled him.  When there was no answer from Ginny, Draco volunteered to get her away from danger. Draco glanced down at her worriedly and picked her up to carry her away.

Meanwhile, the centaur was furious at the fact that his friends died. This one looked almost as freakish as Harry's previous opponent did. It was an older centaur with white hair and a dumpy looking body. Its eyes were the most fearful factor. They appeared to be possessed looking because they were wide as if staring at you from every angle. The uncaring eyes looked like they could see inside your soul. It formed a yellow ball with its manly hands and threw it at Ginny and Draco. It hit a few feet in front of them, causing them to stumble backwards a bit. Draco regained his footing and ran towards the trail to safety. While Draco ran, Harry jinxed the bats and knocked all of them out. All there was left to fight was that centaur. 

"_Stupefy!_" Harry shouted. The spell stunned the creature for a few brief seconds, and then there were no other effects. Despite its slow, yet creepy appearance, Harry could tell that this might be a tough match because it was so strong. The centaur took out its bow and started shooting arrows at Harry, since Draco and Ginny were long gone. Harry ducked every one while jumping around to avoid them. One finally hit him in the arm. He didn't have time to pull it out, but he could tell that it was enchanted because it hurt way too much. It dug deeper and deeper into his skin until it finally was impaled. Harry gasped in pain and grabbed his arm, which felt like it was on fire. Harry forced himself to ignore the agony and tend to the battle for the time being. 

"_Locomotor Mortis!_" Harry said while the centaur's legs locked as it fell over. It stood back up again, as if nothing ever happened. _Yes, this one is definitely strong. I wonder if I should just kill it right now instead of using these childish spells. But I don't want to be mean and I refuse to use illegal curses. _

While Harry was distracted, the centaur threw another sphere at him. This time, it hit his already damaged arm, causing it to turn black and peel. His arm ached like nothing ever before did. He cried out in pain and then thought, _get a grip on yourself, Harry! This thing deserves to die now. Anything that can cause this much pain is just begging to die. No, not just die. It needs to BURN!!!_

"Go burn!" he said to the beast. "Burn in hell." 

"Make me," it teased. 

"As you wish," Harry replied while snickering like Malfoy. "_Incendio!_" 

The centaur burst into flames. It was screaming and crying, while Harry was thoroughly enjoying himself. He laughed and did a victory dance as he watched the centaur's pleading eyes. 

"Sorry, but I don't believe in mercy at the moment," Harry said coldly. 

As he watched the last ashes disappear from the burnt carcass, Harry felt rather pleased with himself as he left abandoned that area of the forest to find the others waiting for him on the trail. He saw Ginny lying on the ground and Draco covering her gashes with his sleeve. Ginny's body was still pallid.

"So you don't believe in mercy, do you?" Draco asked Harry. "I heard everything you said back there. I knew you would change from a pansy into an evil mastermind sooner or later."

"No, Malfoy. I believe in mercy. I just forgot about it back there. I was really pissed off," Harry admitted.

"Well, that was obvious," Draco replied. 

"Will Ginny be okay?" Harry asked while changing the subject purposely.

"I think so. It's a pretty deep wound though and she's out cold," Draco said in an unusually caring voice. He tore off a piece of his robes and tied it around her arm. 

"Poor Ginny," Hary said sadly. "I hope she can awaken soon."

"Me too," Draco said.

"Wait a minute," Harry paused while thinking. "How did you get your wand back?"

"Well that is none of _your _business, Potter," Draco retorted.

"Please? I really want to know," Harry begged.

"Fine! If you really must know, then I'll tell you," Draco replied while enjoying Harry pleading to him. "Remember when you left me in the Slytherin common room by myself while you went to talk to Snape? Well I looked for my wand when I was in there and sure enough I found it in the last place I left it."

"You're such a git, Malfoy. I thought you were having a moment of silence with your dead friends!" Harry said while outraged.

"Why would I want to do a thing like that? I'm not a sap."

"Just forget it!" Harry said while annoyed. _I really did think he was starting to change. I guess I was wrong. Malfoy will always be a conceited prat. _

"Did you know that there's an arrow sticking out of your arm?" Draco asked while noticing Harry's damaged arm for the first time. 

"You just noticed that? Wow, and I thought _I _was slow!"

"That's because you are," Draco replied with his usual sarcasm. "Now seriously what happened?"

"The centaur shot it at me," Harry replied honestly. "I don't want to take it out myself because I'm squeamish." 

"Well, it looks like I'm going to have to pull it out. This should be fun," Draco said with a smirk.

As Draco reached for the injured arm, Harry said, "Don't even think about it!"

"Well it's going to have to come out sooner or later," Draco said reasonably.

"I want Ginny to take it out. I don't trust you."

"Ginny's not awake, remember? She probably won't be awake for a while. Do you want to wait that long and get it infected?" Draco inquired.

"I suppose not…" Harry said weakly. "Fine just do it, but make it quick."

In response to this, Draco took off Harry's robes and shirt. 

"You know, I'm still annoyed that you got to see me naked," Draco said with irritation.

"Well if you want, we can make it even and you can see me naked,"Harry replied smoothly.

"Gods, no!" Draco yelled as a reply. "Why in the world would I want to see that?" 

"I was just kidding Malfoy. Now stop complaining and get the arrow out before I change my mind."

In response to this, Draco blushed and then grabbed Harry's arm, which made him blush even more. Harry quietly laughed to himself, while wondering what Draco was thinking at the moment. He pushed the arrow out gradually, while making Harry scream a few times. Harry had a distinct feeling that Draco did that on purpose, just to watch him bleed and suffer for making him blush so much. 

"Thanks, luscious," Harry said sarcastically just to piss him off. Draco replied with a grunt.

When Draco's face was a familiar shade of white again, he said, "We should get out of here. I definitely don't want to run into those ungodly creatures again."

"For once, you have a good idea," Harry replied.

"Shut up," Malfoy teased. 

"You can carry Ginny since my arm is…well…disfigured and all." Harry looked at his arm, which had black and pink marks all over them from dead, peeling skin. His arm ached extremely badly now. _I must have torn a few muscles, _he thought. Again, he didn't want to take the risk of attempting to heal himself, because he was not a professional. 

"Fine. Why must I be volunteered for everything?" Draco complained. But when Draco bent over to pick Ginny up, Harry noticed that he gave her a lame smile that was somewhat sympathetic. _Well, it's a start._

"You know you like carrying her, Malfoy," Harry stated the obvious. Draco's smile vanished as he turned to sneer at Harry. 

They walked together down the path while not saying much of anything. Harry was in too much pain at the moment to deal with Draco's constant arguing. Then Draco mysteriously laid Ginny down gently on the ground and walked over to the side of the trail. He started to pick the herbs there. 

"Malfoy, this is not the time to be gardening. We have to get out of this forest soon before the centaurs attack us."

"I know that. I was picking these herbs for both Ginny and you. I think they might help. I read about them in herbology class, although I can't remember the name of them," Draco said sincerely. 

Harry's eyebrows shot up in surprise. He couldn't help but question Draco's nice gesture. He usually was not like this, and if he was this nice, then it was often at the expense of others or for his own benefit or amusement. He didn't quite trust the other boy, either. 

"Uh…thanks I guess," Harry said to Draco unsurely. When Draco was staring at Ginny and ignoring him while obviously deep in thought, Harry continued while the pain seared through him again. "Well don't just stand there. Give it to me, Malfoy!"

"I didn't know you wanted me that much. Usually when people say 'give it to me' they use my first name," Draco joked. 

"Stop fooling around. I'm in agony, here!" Harry said while annoyed.

"Fine," Draco said calmly as he handed the herbs to him. 

Harry devoured the magical herbs and a few moments later, the pain started to ease, but it didn't completely go away. _At least I'm not in total agony, _Harry thought thankfully. He saw Draco gather different herbs and put them in his pocket. 

When Draco caught Harry watching him, he said, "This is for Ginny when she awakens."

Harry couldn't believe that Draco was actually being nice for once. He noticed that this was the second time today that he called Ginny by her real name. _Something must be up, _he thought. _He seems happier today, despite the battles we've been through. _

As the sky was getting dimmer, they left the Forbidden Forest. Since they didn't know where the safe house was and Ginny was still unconscious, they decided to lie down and fall asleep after having diner. This time, no thoughts plagued his mind as he was relieved to temporarily escape the pain from his arm and thankful to be out of the forest. 

         The next morning, Harry awoke first. He glanced to the side first and saw Draco's arm wrapped protectively around Ginny. Then he felt hot air on his head. The slow and steady air motions from above him made him realize that something was _breathing _on him. Afraid to know what it could be, he reluctantly looked upwards to find a hideous dark creature staring at him. It hovered over him like an ominous black cloud. He screamed.        


	8. A Battle in the Sky

            Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns the Harry Potter series, not me. Too bad…oh well. In this chapter, I used more slipknot lyrics and a "pinky and the brain" quote. That show is cool. I also used the orc from Warcraft #1 called "Day of the Dragon" by Richard A. Knaak. I took a battle scene from that book as well, but only I twisted it around a bit to make it Harry Potter style. 

A/N: The real battle scene is much more dramatic…and much better written than mine. Oh well. 

                                    **Chapter 8: A Battle in the Sky**

Harry realized that he only screamed because he was startled. This was no enemy. Its ebony skin barely covered its bony ribcage. The eyes, which were sparkly white, seemed to contradict the overall dark appearance. It looked like a deformed horse. Harry had seen these creatures before while pulling the 'Ogwats carriages full of students up to the large oak doors. _Thestrals, _Harry pondered. _They won't hurt me. In fact, I can put them to good use. It found me easily because it could smell the blood from my wounds. _Harry's scream woke Draco, who was staring at him with hate. However, Ginny was still lying on the ground unconscious.

            "What is your problem, Potter?" Draco asked while irritated. Then he looked up and saw the thestral. "E gads, brain! What the hell is that thing?" 

"This," Harry paused while petting it, "Is a thestral."

"Oh yeah I remember that we learned about them with Hagrawp - uh I mean Hagrid," Draco said reasonably. "Wow I never thought they would look like that!" he exclaimed.

"Ginny should be able to see them when she wakes up, since she had also seen death," Harry said. "But I am beginning to worry. She has been knocked out for a long time now. I hope she is okay."

Draco bent down to look at Ginny. He gently touched her hair and looked at her longingly, forgetting that Harry was there talking to him. He looked at her intensely with his cold gray eyes, as if trying to make her force her eyelids open. He bent down closer to her so his face was almost touching hers. 

"Malfoy, get with the program. This is not sleeping beauty!" he snapped while Draco blushed. "As I was saying before you almost snogged Ginny, I was thinking that we could use this thestral to take us to the safe house."

"But what about Ginny? We need her to guide us there," Draco said calmly as the redness drained from his face.

"I know. That's why we must wait until she wakes up," Harry said reasonably.

"In the mean time, let's have breakfast," Draco suggested.

"Okay. _Ascendio bagels!_" Harry shouted. The bagels appeared and the boys began to eat. 'What should I get for the thestral to eat?" he asked.

"Let me handle this. _Ascendio tortured baby cow!_" Draco said.

"Malfoy, no! I don't want this poor thing to die," Harry stated sadly as the cow appeared. Its large eyes pleaded with Draco to be spared. 

"Your sympathy sickens me," Draco said as he made the cow vanish. "Now what do you suppose it should have? I read somewhere that they love tortured baby cows…Hmm, but then again, who doesn't?"

"No!" Harry said quickly. "I don't like tortured baby cows! That's just sick!"

"It's called a joke, Potter. As in ha-ha," Draco sassed. "Oh I have a great idea! _Ascendio cow carcass!_" he yelled. As the dead body appeared, Harry's mouth dropped in awe as the thestral viciously ripped it apart and devoured it. 

"That's so disturbing!" Harry said while outraged.

"Disturbing? Yes, I suppose it is. Maybe that's why I think this is entertaining," Draco replied slyly.

"You're sick. I think you need mental help," Harry said honestly.

Draco thought for a few seconds and then said, "Perhaps."

There was a small moment of silence after this. While eating, Harry thought of an annoying question to ask Draco. 

"Why are you so fascinated with Ginny?" Harry asked while Draco was staring at the thestral brutally ripping open the body.

Draco turned Harry's way and said coolly, "Whatever gave you that idea?" 

"Well, you saved her more than once, you called her 'Ginny love,' and you almost snogged her today," Harry said while counting on his fingers.

"I saved her so I can get praise, I called her that name because I figured she would open her eyes if she was faking, and as for the 'almost snogging' thing, there was dirt on her face and I was trying to wipe it off," Draco replied.

"Oh you're good. You're really good, but not good enough to trick me. I couldn't have thought of better lies myself. Now I know why you're in Slytherin," Harry admitted.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Draco replied stupidly while shrugging. He turned around to avoid the conversation while watching the thestral finish it's breakfast. 

"Then why did you smile when I told you to carry Ginny?" Harry nagged.

"Look, Potter. You need to shut the hell up before I make you. Mind your own business!" Draco yelled with rage.

Harry left the area where they had breakfast to check on Ginny. Much to his delight, she was awake. He headed over to her. She was looking around bewilderedly as if wondering where she was. She even seemed sort of frightened. _I can't really blame her, _Harry thought. However, when she saw him heading over to her, her expression was cheerful. 

"Harry, where are we?" she asked.

"We're out of the Forbidden Forest, so don't worry," Harry said reassuringly. "Oh I found a thestral. I was hoping that you could give it directions to go to the safe house. We can get there much faster now."

"Oh that's great," she replied. "Oh my, what happened to your arm?" Ginny asked as her eyes darted to Harry's injury.

"The centaur burned and shot it. It really hurts. Draco picked some herbs for us though. You missed it. He was actually being nice for once!" 

"That's surprising," Ginny said. "Oh I wish I could have seen that!" 

"It's not too late. Go see him. He's over there. I'll bet he will be glad to see you. He was the one who rescued you. He was very worried," Harry admitted.

"Okay!" Ginny said while excited. 

Harry walked her to Draco, who was petting the thestral. Draco's eyebrows shot up in surprise as he gazed at Ginny. 

"Why if it isn't the weasel and her friend, Potty," Draco teased. 

Harry's smile turned into a frown. _He was so worried about her and all he could do now is make fun of her. _"Leave Ginny alone. She's been through a lot," Harry said.

"You're such a bitch, you know that?" Ginny said to him. "I thought you were actually going to be nice for once!" she yelled.

"Now why would I do a thing like that?" he asked innocently. 

"Because its polite!" Ginny screamed.

_Draco should know better not to piss Ginny off, _Harry thought wisely. _She has a fiery temper._

"I can't stand you, Draco Malfoy! You need to go jump off a cliff."

"I would just to get away from you and Potty Wee Potter," Draco sneered. 

"I HATE YOU!!!" Ginny yelled.

He walked over to her and stared at her coldly with his intense gray eyes for several seconds. Harry feared that he would try to hurt her. Instead, Draco did something unexpected. He grabbed Ginny in a tight hug while Harry stared with his mouth half opened. Ginny didn't push him away. She just stood there as if she was unable to move. 

When he finally let go of her, he said, "You always fight back. That's what I like about you, Ginny." He walked away to pet the thestral as if nothing ever happened. Both Ginny and Harry watched him walk away with surprised looks on their faces. 

Harry had the courage to ask, "What in the world was that about?"

"Uh…I don't know?" Ginny said unsurely. "I hate him even more now! How can he change his moods like that so quickly? ARGH! I just want to slap him!" Harry noticed that Ginny's voice didn't sound that convincing. 

"How about we take a short walk? It will keep your mid off of things. And I can tell you about my victory over the centaur," Harry suggested while changing the subject.

"That sounds good," Ginny said cheerfully. 

            When Harry and Ginny returned from their refreshing walk, they saw Draco in the same place they had left him. He continued to pet the thestral affectionately, while ignoring the duo._ He must really like that thing, _he thought. _No surprise there._ Harry noticed that there was another thestral along with the first one. 

            Draco finally acknowledged their presence. He turned to them and said, "I found Raven's friend."

            "Raven?" Ginny asked.

"Yes I named it. Quite appropriate, don't you think?"

"Whatever," Ginny said. She was clearly still annoyed with him.

"Where did you find it?" Harry asked while wanting to change the subject.

"It was deeper in the woods, so I went after it. Once it saw Raven, it came out here to greet me. I figured we could use it," Draco replied. 

"You should have gotten another one," Ginny snapped.

"Well I did see another one, but I was too lazy to run after it. It didn't seem as eager to meet me. And besides, I figured it would be much more entertaining riding with you," Draco said while snickering.

"Go get the other one!" she ordered.

"Too late. It's long gone."  
  


"Then I'll ride with Harry!"

"Potter doesn't want to ride with you, _right_?" Draco emphasized the last word to make it sound like a threat as he looked towards Harry. 

"Right," Harry replied. He would rather have his own thestral, even though he knew that he should have offered to ride with Ginny. 

Giny gave him a furious glare and then gave in. "As long as you try nothing funny, Malfoy!"

"Ah, I see you must be annoyed. We're back on a last name basis with each other. As you wish, _little weasel!_" he said the last words harshly.

"Fine!" she yelled. 

When Ginny turned her back to mount the thestral, Draco gave Harry a lame attempt at a smile. Harry took it as a way of thanking him. They all climbed aboard there thestrals. When Draco gripped Ginny's waist firmly, she squeaked.

"I told you to cut it out!" she yelled.

"What? I have to hold onto something. I don't want to fall off, you know. These things are pretty fast!" he admitted.

As Ginny seemed to accept this excuse, Harry chuckled. 

"What are you cackling about, Potter?" Draco said while glaring at him.

"Oh nothing," he lied. "We better get going."

Just when Harry said that, the thestrals all zoomed in the air swiftly without warning. Harry thought he was going to fall off, but he was glad that he had great instincts and a firm grip. _I bet Draco has the same thing, _Harry thought while imagining him holding onto Ginny's waist. When he saw them pass by him, he laughed again. The laughter almost distracted him from the constant pain in his arm and how uncomfortable he was riding the thestral. It seemed like he was going to fall off any minute. Meanwhile, he was nauseous. _I can't wait to get off this thing, _he thought miserably. He continued to follow Ginny and Draco.

As he was beginning to relax on the thestral, he saw something up ahead. He couldn't tell what it was from a distance, but it did not look friendly. When he flew up closer, he could see it. It was a mighty green beast riding a crimson dragon with massive talons. He saw the details up close now. _This is not just any beast,_ he thought. _This is a warrior._ It was wearing heavy armor over it's green muscular body that covered him from head to toe, save for the neck and the hands. It even had a metal helmet over its long black hair while carrying an axe. Its crisp white fangs emerged from the bottom lip, while covering the top teeth. Its bright blue eyes contradicted the appearance. He remembered reading about these creatures before, but he had never actually seen one. They are known as orcs. 

Harry darted his eyes away from the orc to look for Ginny and Draco. He saw them coming nearer to the green beast, but when they tried to get around it, the latter blocked them so they were trapped. Even the massive wings of the thestrals couldn't get around this orc. This was a really tough one. Harry felt that a battle was unavoidable. 

"_Petrificus totalus!_" Harry heard Ginny shout. 

The spell backfired and the creature seemed unharmed, yet very annoyed. It roared with rage, and then it struck. It said something in an unfamiliar language. Then the dragon spat out flames from its mouth directly at Ginny. Harry flew closer and used the flame freezing charm just in time to save Ginny. The embers turned into a chunk of ice and Harry heard it hit the ground below.

By now, the orc was even more angrier that before. It flew after Harry at great speed while narrowly missing his head as he swung the axe. He used the crimson dragon to attempt to burn him, but Harry kept ducking out of the way. Once again, he was thankful for his superb instincts. Draco kept shouting dark, mysterious spells at the orc, but they all kept missing. Harry wondered why this could happen, but there was no solution to the problem. Ginny tried to stupefy it a few times, but that also failed. 

"Why isn't it working?" Harry heard Ginny ask Draco.

Harry thought of a brilliant idea. "There's only one spell that will work on it now," Harry said.

"_Priori Incantem!_" Harry shouted. Just as he wished, he got answers. Harry saw that the last spell used on the suit of armor was a magic charm. The charm protected the orc against all types of magic, just as Harry suspected. 

"How does that help, Potter? Now we're defenseless." 

Harry was speechless. He thought that finding out one question would lead him to more answers, but he was wrong. Draco, however, seemed to have an idea after a few moments of thinking. 

"_Ascendio axe!_" he said as the axe flew towards him perfectly.

"How did you do that? The armor would have prevented that spell!" Harry said reasonably.

"The armor would have, but remember that the orc's hands aren't covered," Ginny said. 

"Oh…" Harry said stupidly. _I should have known that! _He thought while annoyed.

Draco looked down at his hands holding the axe and grinned. _Oh no. Whenever he grins like that, something bad is going to happen. We're doomed!_

"Ginny, fly closer to the orc!" he demanded.

"Why?" she asked while perplexed.

"Just do it!" he snapped. 

_Oh gods, he must be on a suicide mission. I have to stop it! Harry thought. _"Draco, don't do this!" Harry yelled to him. "Just think of all the people that care about you! Let's see, there's um…well, there's got to be someone."

"I do," Ginny said while smiling. All anger seemed to have evaporated from her. Draco turned to smile back at her sincerely, while forgetting his evil sneer and taunting jokes. 

He returned to himself again after a few seconds. "Whatever, little weasel. What are you blabbering about, Potter?"

"Don't kill yourself!"

"I wasn't going to. Watch and learn," he said coolly. 

Ginny flew closer to the orc riding the dragon. He told Ginny directions to get around the orc. Then he ordered her to stop as its back was facing them. Harry was watching from afar. He unexpectedly jumped off of the thestral and hopped onto the dragon, which roared and kicked. The orc had no weapon, except for its strength. It tried grabbing Draco, but he was much too quick for it. The dragon fiercely tried killing him with its long talons. Draco seemed to be having difficulty holding onto the dragon, because it was twisting and rolling in an unsuccessful attempt to dispose of him. _He would do great on one of those mechanical bull things, _Harry thought randomly. _Stop being an ass! Any small movement can be fatal!_

As Draco regained his footing, he held the axe firmly in his hands. He looked from the axe to the orc repeatedly as the orc seemed to be frozen in place. Draco suddenly lifted the axe and swung it fiercely, but missed. The orc grabbed his arm and twisted it in an unnatural position as Draco screamed in agony. Surprisingly, he wouldn't let go of the axe. After the painful screaming ceased, Draco glared at the orc even more evilly than he glared at Harry. The eight-foot orc stood up while towering over Draco's small figure. The orc bent down to grasp Draco again, but it missed. While Draco snuck behind the orc, he tried pushing it off of the dragon, which was a stupid move because it did nothing. _Goodbye, Draco. The end is near for all of us. If only you weren't so conceited…_

Draco looked pissed off. "Fuck this shit. I'm sick of this. You're going down. This is a war!" Draco said through ragged breathing.

When the orc bent down to grasp Draco, the latter used the axe successfully. Draco slammed the axe down on the orc's head. It was completely severed and it rolled off the side of the dragon. (A/N: If this were real, the orc would kick Draco's ass. I didn't want him to die though, so the orc had to… sniffle sob sob). Draco laughed as he pushed the rest of the body off of the dragon and said casually, "Well, that was interesting."

There was an inhuman cry of rage as Draco looked to the ferocious dragon. "Oh yeah, I forgot about that," he admitted. 

Draco swung the axe at the red dragon, but it wouldn't work. "I can't do it! The scales are too thick! Use magic. It should work since the armor is gone!" Draco yelled. 

"I got it," Ginny said while volunteering to defeat the dragon. "_Orchideous!_" she said as flowers emerged from her wand. There was no effect on the dragon.

"What was that?" Harry asked her while confused.

"I always wanted to see Draco covered in flowers. He looks adorable!" she said.

"I am not a playtoy!" Draco yelled.

"But we can arrange that," Ginny flirted.

"Next thing I know, you're going to dress me in drag," Draco said while annoyed.

"That's a good idea!" Ginny said cheerfully.

"Stop it, Ginny. He could die any moment! Remember that!" Harry snapped as Draco stared at her. 

"Oh…right. Sorry," she said meekly. "_Petrificus totalus!_" she yelled, as the petrified dragon began to sink to the ground while Draco was still on it. He screamed as he fell with the dragon.

Ginny dove down to where he was falling, Harry didn't think she would make it. She disappeared down into the clouds. They disappeared for a few minutes as Harry waited for them to emerge. _Please let them be okay, _he thought desperately. He went looking for them, while diving deeper and deeper into the puffy white clouds that seemed to mock his worried mood. He searched all over the area. When he saw nothing, he decided that they both died in a bold rescue attempt and he must sadly move on with his life. "I'm sorry," he said to no one in particular, since he knew that Ginny and Draco were dead. Tears blurred his vision. "I'm so sorry."


End file.
